Crime doesn't pay... VAT?

A number of people have been surprised to find that crime does pay tax, thank you very much. It seems bad enough that the police should chase and catch you, put you in the dock and send you to prison, without finding that your first visitor is an Inspector of Taxes.
One of the main cases on crime and tax featured a prostitute called Lindi St. Claire (under her real name, plain Marion Aken). She argued that the Inland Revenue couldn’t tax her income as it would amount to the state “living off immoral earnings”, and she was being unfairly picked on as burglars don’t pay income tax.
She was always very up-front about what she did, which led to various problems with the authorities. The judge noted that she had been advised by her accountant that she could save tax by setting up a limited company, so she tried to do that. “The Registrar of Companies rejected her first choices, Prostitutes Ltd., Hookers Ltd. and Lindi St. Claire (French Lessons) Ltd., but accepted Lindi St. Claire (Personal Services) Ltd. and registered the company. There was no subterfuge as to the purpose of the company. In the memorandum of association the first of the objects was spelled out as: ‘To carry on the business of prostitution’.”
She was also unwise enough to allow ITV to make a programme about her. She described her business and her high charges, and the Inspector of Taxes who was watching decided to check whether she had declared everything.
She was rumoured to have a number of influential clients, which is perhaps one reason why judges wore wigs in those days – harder to be recognised. The Court of Appeal held unanimously that she had to pay. They said that burglary is not a proper trade, while prostitution is (traditionally, it’s posh enough to be a profession). The fact that it’s illegal has nothing to do with it: if you make a profit from a regular income-earning activity, you pay tax on it.
At least Customs don’t seem to have pursued her for the VAT – maybe they didn’t think of it. There’s no reason why prostitution shouldn’t be a “VATable service” as well, as we’ll see later on.
I recall seeing a TV news item about an auction of Beatles memorabilia, and someone giving her name as "Lindi St Claire" was proudly displaying her purchase - a pair of Paul McCartney's underpants. I wondered at the time if this was to be a fixed asset of the trade, but it may have been a different Lindi St Claire.